


Marry Her

by RonRos47



Category: The Fosters (TV 2013)
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-01-07
Updated: 2020-01-07
Packaged: 2021-02-27 10:33:52
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,787
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22165702
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/RonRos47/pseuds/RonRos47
Summary: Will one of them have second doubts?
Kudos: 8





	Marry Her

**Author's Note:**

> As always Brallie are my OTP

It had been a few hours since Brandon had announced his engagement to his family. They were all downstairs but he had excused himself to get something from his room. At least that had been his excuse.

Looking down the hallway to make sure he wasn’t being followed, he knocked on Callie’s door. She was on her bed with a book, distracting herself from the events of earlier.

“Hey,” said Brandon.

Callie looked up. “Hey.”

“You got a minute?”

“Sure.”

Again looking down the hall he walked into Callie’s room and closed the door behind him. His action caused Callie off guard. For so long one of the rules was that they not be in the same room with the door closed.

Callie took a deep breath. “Brandon what are you-,” she said but before she could get the rest of her words out he looked at her.

“I need you to tell me I’m making a mistake.”

“Why would I do that?”

“Callie, please I need you to tell me I’m making a mistake.”

“A mistake about what?”

“About marrying Eliza.”

“Okay so I’m confused. You just got engaged and already having second thoughts? Where is this coming from, Brandon?”

“Because I need you to tell me. I shouldn’t be marrying her, Callie, I should be marrying you.”

Callie froze. It must have felt like an hour but was only a few minutes.

“Brandon, did you say what I think you just said?”

“That I should be marrying you instead of Eliza, yeah I did.”

Callie wasn’t sure what to do. They hadn’t been together in a very long time and only now was Brandon saying this to her. It made no sense.

“Okay I um…,” said Callie, “I’m gonna… I’m gonna go downstairs and pretend like this conversation never happened.”

“Callie-,”

“No, Brandon. This did not just happen so I’m gonna pretend like it didn’t.”

Callie walked past him and opened the door leaving him standing alone. He knew what he’d just done but he didn’t care. He knew what he was risking but he had to get those words out. She had to know. Callie had to know. It was the only way either of them could get any real closure, by putting their feelings to rest. It wasn’t putting them to rest however. Rather he had opened a box that he couldn’t close and he didn’t want to. 

*****

For the rest of the day Callie had done what she could to avoid Brandon. 

It was decided that Eliza would be staying over which only made things worse. From the moment Brandon had introduced Eliza to her which had been a week after the two had started dating, Callie did her best to like her. If Eliza made Brandon happy then that’s what had to count. Now however being under the same roof as Brandon’s now fiancé, Callie wasn’t sure if she could do it without feeling guilty. As if she were somehow cheating on her with him. She knew she wasn’t but it still felt wrong. Brandon had said some things, brought out feelings which she thought had been buried but were now making their way to the surface the more she thought of his words, the more she tried to avoid him and the more she tried to get used to having Eliza around. 

“Did I do something to offend you,” Eliza said to Callie a couple days later as they were preparing a few things out in the backyard for the engagement party  
.  
Callie was busy setting up a few chairs. “No of course not, why would you offend me?” Callie replied.

“I don’t know. I just got this strange vibe like you don’t want me around or something.”

Callie smiled at Eliza as she walked over to get more chairs. “Don’t be ridiculous,” she said.

“Okay so we’re good?”

“Yeah we’re good.”

“Good because I’d hate for you to hate me or something. It’s just that I’m marrying your brother and we’re gonna be family so I’d hate to get off on the wrong foot.”

‘Brother,’ Callie thought to herself, ‘Right.’ She shook those words from her head. Yes he was her brother. He had to be right? They could never be anything more to each other and they hadn’t been for a very long time but now Callie was afraid that the word ‘brother’ was meaningless because they’d never really been brother and sister. She’d lied when she was asked about her relationship with Brandon. She said she loved him like a brother but that wasn’t true at all. She also knew Brandon had said the same thing in his interview. The two had shared notes the day after so they could finally clear the air and make sure there were no misunderstandings despite both having not told the truth. It was the only way Callie could become part of the family on a more permanent level and Brandon knew that’s what Callie wanted so he had sacrificed his love for her to give her that family and Callie had sacrificed her love for him for the same reason.

“You’re marrying Brandon,” said Callie as she came out of her thoughts, “it’s fine.” 

“That didn’t sound too convincing.”

Callie put down the chair and took a deep breath. She’d been trying so hard with Eliza but now the girl was making things even more difficult.

“What do you want me to say,” Callie asked. “I just want my bro…I just want Brandon to be happy. You make him happy so I get it.”

“You do realize you just couldn’t get out the word ‘brother’?”

Callie took another breath, “I want my brother to be happy. Can’t you just accept that and let it go?”

Eliza looked at Callie for a moment not feeling convinced but ignoring it, “Yeah I can let it go. If we’re not going to treat each other as family then I at least want us to be friends.”

“I have to go help my mom’s with some things inside,” Callie said as she ignored Eliza’s comment and made her way in the house.

Callie knew what a jerk she’d just been to Eliza but she couldn’t help it. Eliza was getting on her last nerve and the more she talked about the two becoming family the angrier she became. Brandon was beginning to mess with her head and she didn’t like it.

“Hey,” said her mamma, “you okay?”

Callie smiled at Lena, “Yeah,” she said simply.

“Okay,” Lena said placing a hand on her daughter’s back. “Hey help me with these utensils will you?”

“Sure,” Callie said grateful for the distraction.

*****

As Callie and Mariana stood talking by the appetizer table Mariana looked from Callie to Brandon. “I’m just going to find something useful to do,” Mariana said to them feeling the a sense of tension between them. 

Once Mariana was gone Brandon took a step closer to Callie’s discomfort.

“You told her,” Brandon said to Callie.

“Of course not. You know Mariana, she practically senses everything.”

“Right,” he said turning his full attention on her. “So I said some things a few days ago…”

“Yeah and you weren’t even drunk. Had that been the case I could give you the benefit of the doubt. You can’t take that back, Brandon.”

“I don’t want to take it back,” he admitted.

Callie shook her head, “Forget it, I’m not doing this.”

“Doing what?”

“You know what,” Callie said, raising her voice.

The gathering turned to look at the two of them. From across the yard Stef and Lena looked at each other with concern.

Callie turned around trying to be distracted by the food in front of her.

“I’m not going to be that girl that gets involved.”

“You are involved.”

Callie turned to look at him. “I’m not. I’m not going to be that girl who gets in between a couple that just got engaged especially at their engagement party. Why are you trying to complicate things? We haven’t been together in years and you’re dropping this bomb on me now?”

“I know the timing of it all sucks but I meant what I said.”

“Well you shouldn’t have said it at all. Why couldn’t you have just let it go?”

“Because after what I did,” he leaned in and whispered, “proposing to her like that, I realized I was making the biggest mistake of my life.”

“Stop, just stop. I can’t be hearing this right now. I’m going to do what’s best for the both of us and I’m going to walk away.”

“Callie, come on,” he said as she took a few steps away from him.

“I’m not doing this right now, Brandon, I can’t.”

*****

Just as Callie was pouring a drink of white wine in the kitchen she looked over and saw her mom entering. She knew what was coming but did her best to ignore it. Callie walked over to the kitchen window and looked out.

“You okay,” Stef asked as she stood beside her daughter. 

Callie crossed her arms with her glass in hand. “Yeah,” Callie replied.

Stef looked out the window and then back at Callie. “There something going on between you and Brandon that I should know about?”

“Nope,” Callie said.

She was giving one word answers which to Stef meant it wasn’t something good.

“Because if there is, it’s not like I could stop you anymore. You two are grown adults so you have to make these choices for yourself but Callie, don’t ruin this. Brandon is happy and so is Eliza. We all have to accept that.”

Callie looked at her mom. Sure Stef put half of the blame on Brandon but she also put the blame on Callie, sometimes it felt like more so than him.  
“I’m not the one ruining this,” Callie said as she turned around and walked to the front door and to the front of the house needing some time alone.

Stef was shocked at her words and then looked out the window watching as Brandon was smiling with his arm wrapped around Eliza’s waist. She began to wonder if it was real or if Brandon was putting on some kind of front to hide some kind of truth that involved Callie. 

This scared her a bit but she’d been truthful to Callie, they were adults so what she or Lena said to them didn’t matter. If they were going to be together then they would be but they hadn’t been together in years so it made no sense to now unless they’d harbored those feelings for so long, fooling everyone in their wake or maybe not fooling anyone at all given their past history. Like it or not they’d each been in love at some point and maybe that love was still there. Stef, and even Lena, had to admit that despite Callie’s adoption, the two had never been brother and sister. They’d always been something more to each other.

Stef continued to watch Brandon and he turned to look up at her with a smile though with a slight look of discontent. To Stef it was as if Brandon suddenly knew she’d known something was going on.

*****

“You’re still in love with him, aren’t you?” Mariana said as she found Callie on the front porch. She had her glass of wine on the side and was sitting beside it.  
Callie shook her head. Why couldn’t she have just been left alone?

“I’m not getting into this,” Callie said.

“That’s okay,” Mariana said as she took a seat on the step next to her sister. “It’s just that it’s written all over your face and it’s more than written on Brandon’s too.”

Callie shook her head and this time she couldn’t stop the tears she’d known were coming. “Why did he have to mess things up? Everything was going fine and then he goes and does this. Why now?”

“Maybe he realized what a big mistake he’s making?”

Callie wiped at her tears, “Yeah, he pretty much said the same thing yesterday.”

“Wait, yesterday, the day he announced his engagement to the family?”

“That’s the day.”

“What is he an idiot?”

“It would seem like it.”

“You’d think he would’ve admitted he was in love with you before he put a ring on Eliza’s finger.”

“Mariana, seriously?”

“I am being serious. Your first love is getting married so that must really suck but to find out he’s still in love with you, you can’t sit there and tell me you’re okay with that?”

Callie turned to look at Mariana, “You think this is easy for me? It does hurt, it hurts more than anything. I loved him, Mariana, we all know that and sure maybe he was right, maybe what we had only happens once in a lifetime-,”

“He said that to you?”

Callie let that go, “but it doesn’t matter. None of that does. He’s marrying her and I’m okay with that.”

“Are you because he doesn’t seem to be.”

“I’m not that girl, I’m not going to be that girl that’s part of some weird love triangle.”

“Hate to break it to you, Callie but you are that girl just like he’s always been that guy. You guys have never been able to have stable relationships without the sting of it hurting the other.”

Callie knew her sister was right. She looked out to the empty street and took a sip of her nearly empty glass of wine. Wyatt, AJ, Aaron, Talia, Lu, Courtney, no matter the relationship they could not help but have issues with the other. Every one of their exes saw through it. Nothing, no one could come between her and Brandon. Not her adoption, not time, and certainly not an engagement. All of that scared Callie. She didn’t want to have the feelings she did, but she couldn’t help that despite everything she was still in love with him just like he was in love with her. What they had only happened once in a lifetime, Callie knew that now. No one would ever be good enough.

“It doesn’t matter,” Callie said, as she wiped away more tears, “I can’t do anything about it.”

Mariana gave a sympathetic look at her sister and placed a hand on Callie’s back, the two of them sitting in silence as they watched a car pass by.

*****

“Morning you,” Eliza said as she came into the kitchen where Brandon sat with a cup of coffee and nothing more. She placed a kiss on his lips which Brandon wasn’t expecting and felt uncomfortable with.

Brandon looked at her and smiled, “Hey.”

“You okay?” she asked him.

Brandon took a sip, “Yeah why wouldn’t I be?”

“I don’t know it’s just that you seem kind of distracted lately.”

“Just stress from the wedding.”

“You’re sure that’s all it is?”

“Yeah.”

“Okay. I mean last night you seemed different.”

“I’m not.”

“Really? I saw you talking to Callie and I-,”

“You what?” Brandon said getting slightly defensive. “There’s nothing going on between me and Callie.”

“I never said there was, Brandon,” Eliza said getting a bit scared over his defensiveness.

“Right, sorry. Like I said I’m just stressed out.”

“And Callie is involved how?”

“She’s not involved,” he said a little too quickly.

“Brandon, what’s going on with you?”

Brandon tossed the rest of his coffee in the sink and left the cup there. “I should probably help mom’s with the cleanup outside. It was our engagement party.”

Eliza nodded, “Sure.”

Eliza watched him go to the backyard and a part of her now couldn’t help but wonder if something more was going on other than stress.

*****

“Jesus told me I’d find you here,” Eliza said as she looked up at Mariana in the tree house that same day she had talked to Brandon hours earlier.

“My brother can’t keep his mouth shut can he?”

Eliza said nothing as she made her way up.

“Uh…” Mariana said unsure as to why her Eliza would want to be hanging out with her.

“Mariana, can I ask you something?”

“Sure.”

“Brandon isn’t stressing out over the wedding is he?” Eliza asked.

“Sure he is. I mean wouldn’t you be?”

“No, no I wouldn’t. I’m certain about Brandon, I love him but he doesn’t love me does he? I mean he says he does but not in the way he loves someone else.”  
“What are you talking about?”

“Just answer me one simple question: should I be worried about him?”

“Why would you even think that?” Mariana said not going further into the conversation.

Eliza waited but Mariana said nothing. “That’s all you’re going to say, you’re just going to ask why I would even think that? I thought we were friends, Mariana, I’m at least going to be your sister-in-law , at least I think I am because now I’m starting to doubt that. At least don’t I earn some kind of brownie points for that?”

“There’s nothing to tell.”

“And yet I don’t believe that.”

“Then that’s your problem.”

“Okay seriously,” Eliza said matching Mariana’s tone, “what is it with you Fosters today? Brandon was just as defensive this morning.”

“I’m not being defensive. I’ve just got nothing to tell you,” Mariana said as she stood up and wanted to walk out of the tree.

“He’s in love with her,” Mariana stopped, her back towards Eliza, “isn’t he?” Eliza finished. “That’s why he’s been so distant today, that’s why he seemed unhappy last night after his conversation with Callie.” Mariana turned to look at Eliza. “That’s why he looked different the other day when we announced the engagement. He’d come downstairs from talking to her and that’s why their eyes met when we told everyone. You know not once has he ever looked at me like that. At first I thought I was just imagining things but I’m not, am I?”

Mariana took a deep breath and conceded. “No you’re not.”

“How long?” Mariana tried to stay silent. “Mariana, how long has he been in love with her?”

“Since they were sophomores.”

Eliza looked up and then back at Mariana, “Sophomores? I met Brandon when we were juniors.”

“Not sophomores in college, sophomores in high school.”

Those words caused Eliza to take a seat at the kitchen counter. “High school,” she repeated. “So basically I’ve got no chance. What was he thinking when he proposed?”

“I can’t answer that. Look all I can tell you is that Brandon does love you.”

“Just not enough apparently. I don’t get it, why did he even propose if he still has feelings for her?”

“I don’t know. I’m not even sure he has feelings for Callie,” Mariana lied, “I mean it was a long time ago.”

“And what about you?”

“What about me?”

“Well you helped Brandon pick out the ring so what side are you on?”

“I love my brother,” said Mariana, “and I love Callie.”

“So you’re on their side.”

“It’s not about sides. I just want them to be happy and Brandon is happy with you.”

“But he doesn’t seem to be anymore. That’s the problem.”

Mariana didn’t say anything more. What could she say? All Eliza would do was ask more questions and want more details. Questions she didn’t want to answer and details she didn’t want to give. She understood how hard it was for Eliza but she also saw what it was doing to her brother and her sister. This was why she hated love triangles. In the end someone always got hurt but at the same time the right couple always ended up together in the end and more than anything Mariana knew which couple would ultimately be right for each other.

*****

“So should we worry,” Lena asked as she and Stef were doing laundry in their room.

“About what?”

“You know about what, about Brandon and Callie.”

Stef sighed, “I don’t know. I mean it’s not like we can do anything about it anymore right?”

“I just don’t get it, I thought it was over between them.”

“Yeah we all did. At least it was supposed to be.”

“You think they lied?”

“Honestly I don’t know what to think anymore. This is Brandon and Callie we’re talking about. Nothing has ever been easy between those two especially when it comes to their…relationship.”

“Do you have to use that term?”

“Well what else am I supposed to call it, Lena?”

Lena couldn’t think of another word. The word siblings sounded completely off and the term friends seemed to simple.

“It’s been years though,” said Lena. “And now Brandon is getting married so why now?”

“That’s probably why.”

“You think he’s having second thoughts?”

“He could be.”

“But he just got engaged a few days ago.”

“Maybe that was enough time for him to reconsider things.”

“You mean time to think about how he really feels about Callie. Do you think she feels the same way?”

“It wouldn’t surprise me. You should’ve seen her the night of the engagement party. She seemed distant, hurt and when I told her not to ruin things for Brandon she told me he was the one ruining things.”

“So that’s why she’s been trying so hard to do things around here lately.”

“It would explain it, yeah.”

“And there’s nothing we can do.”

“Not this time no.”

“So what, we just sit by and let Brandon throw away his engagement.”

“Well it wouldn’t be so bad would it? I mean we’re not all that fond of Eliza and her family are we?”

“Stef.”

“What? Okay I mean sure it was a little rushed but…”

“but…” Lena sighed. She knew her wife all too well that Stef didn’t even have to say anything, “but it’s not like we could stop them before so we can’t exactly do it again. So what do we now?”

Stef shrugged, “Let them figure it out on their own. That’s all that can be done.”

“It just sucks that someone has to get hurt in all of this,” Lena said meaning Eliza or Callie.

“And I’m pretty sure we both know who Brandon will choose.”

“Yeah.”

*****

Eliza smiled as she walked to Brandon. “You know when you said you wanted to have coffee I figured you meant at a café, you know like how we met?”

Brandon half smiled and handed her a cup with her favorite. “Figured we’d try something new,” he said as the two of them walked to a bench in the nearby park.

“I’m sorry,” he said to her.

“Sorry about what?”

“For hurting you.”

“How could you have hurt me, Brandon, unless…” Eliza didn’t need to finish that thought. “It’s about Callie isn’t it?”

“How did you know?”

“Brandon give me some credit, I’m not a complete idiot.”

“No of course not. How did you find out?”

“From you. You said there was nothing going on between you and Callie but you weren’t telling the truth were you?”

“It’s a lot more complicated than that.”

“Like how, like the fact that you’re still not over your ex from high school? I don’t get it, I thought she was your sister. I mean isn’t that what you guys always said?”

“And I’m telling you again, it’s complicated.”

“Sure it is.”

“It is! Look this thing with Callie, I can’t really explain it okay. Do I love Callie, of course I do, she’s family.”

“But she’s also more than that. She’s your sister, Brandon.”

“No she’s not okay and I wish people would stop believing that. What Callie and I have is real and nothing can change that.”

Brandon saw the tears stream down her face and he cursed himself for it.

“You said, ‘have’,” said Eliza, “so you never really loved me did you?” Brandon didn’t answer so Eliza shook her head. She took the ring off her finger, “guess you’ll be wanting this back,” she said placing it in his hand.

“Eliza-,”

“Forget it, Brandon.”

“I didn’t mean to hurt you.”

“It’s kind of too late for that.”

Eliza wiped at some tears and without saying another word she began to walk away.

*****

“I’m sorry,” Brandon said to Callie as she sat under the tree with her guitar a few days after Brandon had called off the engagement to Eliza. He seemed to be doing that a lot these days.

Callie hadn’t played her guitar in a while but it felt good to and Brandon loved hearing her play.

“What do you want, Brandon?”

“To apologize. I know I messed everything up,” he said, “and I understand why you hate me.”

Callie placed her guitar aside, “I don’t hate you, Brandon, but yeah you kind of did mess everything up.”

“But I had to tell you the truth and I don’t regret it.”

“Even if it cost you your engagement?”

“She wasn’t the one I wanted to be engaged to.”

Callie stood up leaving her guitar where it was. She looked up to the sky and could see clouds above them. If they didn’t get inside soon the rain would begin to pour.

“You can’t keep saying things like that to me, Brandon.”

“Why not?” he asked as he raised his voice among the thunderous clouds. “You know as much as I do that what you feel for me is real too.”

From inside Mariana stood at the kitchen window with her brothers. Their moms came up behind them.

“What’s going on,” asked Lena.

Mariana smiled, “Brandon and Callie are standing out in the rain.”

“Geeze,” said Stef, “Don’t they realize that they’re going to catch a cold.”

“Really,” said Jesus, “that’s what you’re worried about?”

The five of them watched as Brandon and Callie continued to talk outside. They were loud enough so that they could be heard.

The two of them looked at each other. Callie placed her guitar on the floor. She wanted more than anything for Brandon to be wrong but after everything that had happened in the past week there could be no denying it anymore. She loved him and she always would. There could be no one else and even if there was it would never be enough. It had been over five years but that ceased to matter.

“Remember when I told you that what we had happens once in a lifetime?”

“I remember,” Callie said as the rain started to fall. Neither of them went for a run for it inside.

“I meant it and I meant what I said a week ago. I should be marrying you.”

“Woah!” Jesus and Mariana said at the same time from inside.

“I love you, Callie,” Brandon said as he took a step closer, “I have since the moment I saw you and welcomed you into our home. I loved you the moment I ditched school with you to go after Jude because I thought that was the most bravest thing I’d ever seen someone do. I loved you the moment you opened up to me about Liam because you’d never shared that with anyone. I’ve loved you with every song I’ve ever written and with every song we’ve played together.”

“Why, why me? You could have had anyone and you chose me. I used to be nothing.”

“You’re wrong about that. You’ve meant so much and because you deserve so much more Callie, more than I could give to anyone but you. I don’t care about our past relationships, you’re the one I’ve always wanted.” Brandon looked at Callie and before she could say anything he sped up his stride. Callie didn’t resist as he kissed her and as she kissed him back. 

From inside everyone stood with a look of shock. Only Mariana was smiling gleefully.

“So yeah I want to marry you,” Brandon said with a smile as their foreheads were touching, “Is there anything wrong with that?”

Callie reached for him and kissed him again, “Not anymore.”

The two smiled and continued their kissing, each moment growing deeper. Neither of them cared about the rain that was falling on them. 

It had been a stressful week but one that had cumulated into a truth unfold, a truth revealed that would have remained in the shadows had Brandon not been brave enough to admit he wanted to marry her. It had been messy but it had been worth it. All of it lead to this very moment where, if things headed where they believed it would be Brandon standing at the altar and Callie walking down the aisle with nothing or no one to stand in their way the way it was meant to be.

**Author's Note:**

> There was probably too much of Eliza in this one, whom I can't stand, but she was essential when it came to the whole Brandon/Callie aspect of things.'
> 
> And yes I had to add in a rain scene. I'm a sap for those.


End file.
